Julien lives in one of those rambling French houses that have seen better days. He leads a somewhat aimless and unassuming life, fixing old clocks of every size and shape. Yet he has stumbled across a secret that allows him to blackmail the well-to-do Madame X, whom he meets clandestinely to negotiate his fee – the price constantly increasing in response to her resistance to pay. At the same time, Julien is trying to revive his relationship with the beautiful and sensual Marie, a woman who haunts his dreams. Eventually, Marie comes to live with him and the self-contained Julien finds himself dealing with the demands of the two women in his life -- one in a relationship he controls, the other, one who controls him.